http://volanteonline.com/2017/02/candidly-canada-bottle-free-campus-furthers-sustainability-efforts/
[links, image in on-line article]
Candidly Canada: Bottle-free campus furthers sustainability efforts
February 13th, 2017 Allie Knofczynski
Despite the gloomy weather, my Canadian host campus is shedding light on
important environmental issues. Southern neighbors, take note.
Bishop’s University is the first university in Quebec to ban the sale of
plastic water bottles. An on-campus effort called the Sustainable
Development Action Group implemented the bottle-free campaign in 2010.
This effort is one that simply makes sense, especially on college
campuses where students are constantly on the move and reach for the
most convenient choices available to make it through the day.
For people concerned about water quality, drinking plastic bottled water
isn’t reassuring and potentially less safe than local sources. According
to the University of Toronto, tap water is regulated provincially and
municipally. Bottled water is considered a food and goes by federal
standards.
The same policy applies in the United States. The Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) protects tap water, and the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) protects bottled water. The EPA requires multiple
daily tests for bacteria in local tap water and makes results readily
available to the public. The FDA however, only requires weekly testing
and doesn’t share its findings with the EPA or the public.
The irony of people preferring bottled water over tap water doesn’t end
there. According to Ban the Bottle, a widespread campaign devoted to
this cause, 24 percent of bottled water sold is either Pepsi’s Aquafina
or Coke’s Dasani. Both brands are bottled, purified municipal water.
There’s no difference.
From a sustainability standpoint, plastic water bottles have very
damaging effects on the environment because most of the plastics used
not fully recyclable. Last year, according to the National Resources
Defense Council, the average American used 167 disposable water bottles,
but only recycled 38. Americans used about 50 billion plastic water
bottles last year. However, the U.S.’s recycling rate for plastic is
only 23 percent, which means 38 billion water bottles – more than $1
billion worth of plastic – are wasted each year.
As people fight the battle against our heavy reliance on plastic, water
bottles are an obvious place to start. Not only does “banning the
bottle” benefit the environment through conserved energy and less waste,
but consumers save money, as much as 300 times the cost when choosing
bottles over the tap, according to Business Insider.
Consumers should put their dollars toward the efforts that last longer
than one usage. Rather than buying plastic water bottles, let’s work
toward improving water sources and purification even more.
Let’s ensure places across the country can have access to fresh, clean
water with the touch of tap. The nation has already seen situations like
Flint, Michigan, who hasn’t had lead-free water for years, but
encouraging people to pay more attention to community water purification
is key.
Simply put, free access to clean water is a basic human right, not a
product to buy and sell.
During my first month at Bishop’s, the lack of plastic water bottles has
played no significant role in changing how I or other students live our
daily lives, and yet its effects on the community and planet are
astounding. What happened if we all made such a proclamation? That
important decision would undoubtedly quench our thirst for making the
world a better place.
